Showing posts with label Vanderbilt Moments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vanderbilt Moments. Show all posts

Autism 4 Dummies.

 I got to co-write the foreword for new Autism 4 Dummies book with Dr Temple Grandin. You can read the full text of the foreword on the Frist Center Website

 https://www.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinnovation/nise-fellow-hari-srinivasan-co-authors-foreword-with-temple-grandin-in-autism-for-dummies/


🎉 We sincerely congratulate Hari Srinivasan, one of our Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering (NISE) fellows. Hari co-authored the foreword for the new book Autism for Dummies with Temple Grandin. 🎉

📖 For those interested in reading Hari's section of the forward, it is provided, with permission, on our website here: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinnovation/nise-fellow-hari-srinivasan-co-authors-foreword-with-temple-grandin-in-autism-for-dummies/

📘 Those interested in buying the book can find it here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/autism-for-dummies/0071904a7d5f2bf3?ean=9781394301003&next=t
📕 Those interested in other books relating to the staff and students at FCAI can find them on our books page: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinnovation/books/

Congratulations again, Hari, on your continually inspiring prose.

Book credit:
Title: Autism for Dummies
Authors: Khushboo Chabria, Ranga Jayaraman, and John Marble
Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Comments
  • Hari, I always love the depth and energy you bring to your work! I feel that the internet is saturated with duplicate content, repeated over and over for clickbait or other purposes, and cutting through the noise with work like yours is exactly what I intend to do.
  • Love it, Hari! Really captures such a sweeping array of perspectives with grace and wisdom. Well done!
  • Congrats, Hari! I love your foreword- so honest, practical, helpful and well- written. I’m sure it will further the understanding of autistic experience. Thank you!
  • So well written. He skillfully captures the complexities and uniqueness of the autism spectrum while providing direction for action and purpose. 
  • I have to say, you are so inspiring.  Good role model. TY for infusing hope
  • Very nicely done Hari. Congratulations.
  • Beautifully written. It makes you feel his world.
  • Thank you for representing our community and so grateful for your commitment & dedication Hari !!
  • Very cool Hari! Temple is such an inspiration! I saw a great documentary about her and her work.
  • This is fantastic. Inspirational! When it comes out, we need to highlight on website and Bluesky.
  • I love how Hari called out what Dr Grandin missed. - eg: its beyond early childhood intervention - his speech is still improving. 
  • Amazingly written
  • Superb
  • Amazing as always
  • This is so great, Hari! 
  • This is so wonderful
  • Truly Amazing
  • Amazing

  • I’m excited to read this inspiring book from people that continue to pave the way. Research and execution of therapeutic strategies has made all the difference over the years for people with all levels of Autism to pursue their full potential. Understanding is critical to gaining support. Different needs for throughout life stages. This knowledge gives practical answers and hope for a bright future!


2025 Career Luminary Award

Yes. I got one of those glass triangles on the table. Solid and heavy. 
Super cool to get an Impact Award.

Special shoutout to Keivan Stassun & Tim Vogus for recruiting me to Vanderbilt University in the first place, to be able to contribute to IMPACT here.
Established in 2024, these awards recognize the essential contributors to student career growth across eleven categories for faculty, staff, alums, parents, employer partners, and students.








Dear Hari Srinivasan, 

Congratulations! You are a 2025 recipient of the Career Luminary Award.


Your outstanding contributions to career empowerment within our university community have not gone unnoticed, and we are thrilled to honor your dedication and excellence. These awards are incredibly special,


Career Luminary Award (Current PhD Student): This award celebrates a graduate student who has shown exceptional dedication to career development within their academic program and has made a significant impact on career-related initiatives.








 

First Peer Review


Just completed a peer review for JADD (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders). Good to get to contribute to the scientific process from the other side. It’s unexpectedly empowering to get to evaluate work in your field.


 

🎓 What’s Peer Review?


Before a research paper gets published in  a scientific journal, they’re sent to 2-3 other experts in the same field (🧠 like me now!) to read and give detailed feedback. It’s not just saying a simple yes or no. As a reviewer, you're expected to check if the research question is meaningful, evaluate whether the methods and data are sound, identify missing info or unclear sections, suggest improvements, flag any ethical / technical concerns and recommend whether it should be accepted, revised, or rejected. The goal is to make sure the science is solid before it becomes part of the official literature. The goal is to check for quality, accuracy, and whether the work adds something new to the field. It’s kind of like a report card for a research paper, by people who understand the topic.




Graduate Appreciation Week

Dear Graduate Students,

 

As we kick off national Graduate Student Appreciation Week, I want to be the first to tell you how grateful we here in the BRET Office are that you are part of our Vanderbilt community. We thank you for the contributions you have made and are making to the progress of science. Your effort and perspectives are important to our faculty, staff, postdocs, and your fellow grad students.

 

Your hard work, dedication, and resilience are critical elements for our pushing the frontiers of biomedical research, and it is privilege for us to help you along the way.

 

On behalf of all of my BRET Office colleagues â€¦. thank you for all of your contributions.

  

Walter J. Chazin, PhD
Chancellor’s Chair in Medicine
Departments of Biochemistry and Chemistry
Senior Associate Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education

    and Training, School of Medicine Basic Sciences
Director, Molecular Biophysics Training Program

Founding Director, Center for Structural Biology

First Forum Presentation

 Exciting News from our Lab! 

We're proud to share that two of our talented third-year PhD candidates in Neuroscience, William Quackenbush and

Hari Srinivasan, recently presented their research at the Vanderbilt Brain Institute's Neuroscience Graduate Program Research Forum! 


This was their first time presenting at the forum, and both talks were incredibly well received.


 Coinciding with Autism Month of April, Hari Srinivasan presented his research on: "Virtual Bubbles, Real Insights: Investigating Peripersonal Space (PPS) in Autism." Hari's work explores how autistics process the space around their bodies, offering a novel perspective on sensory-motor integration.


 In March, William Quackenbush presented his research on: "Regulating Rhythms: Elucidating Brain-Behavior Relationships of Motor Stereotypies Across Sensory Landscapes." His work focuses on motor stereotypies (or stimming) in autism, aiming to understand the sensory and motor dynamics that shape these behaviors.


 Both William and Hari are co-mentored by Prof. Mark Wallace at Vanderbilt and Prof. Carissa Cascio (now at the University of Kansas, Lawrence). They are also NISE Fellows (Neurodiversity Inspired Science & Engineering Fellows) at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, reflecting their commitment to advancing autism research through innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.


 It’s exciting to see these promising areas of research being presented at the forum! Congratulations to both William and Hari on their well-received presentations!










Comment in Vanderbilt Hustler

Very happy to comment on Prof Keivan Stassun for this article in the Vanderbilt Hustler




VKC Science Day

 

Poster Presentation at VKC Science Day
https://vkc.vumc.org/multisensory/hari.html


Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day - Tuesday, October 15, 2025

2024 Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day will take place Tuesday, Oct. 15, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Vanderbilt University Student Life Center. Posters will be hung in the Commodore Ballroom from 10:00-11:30 a.m. with the program beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the Commodore Ballroom. Science Day festivities will include lunch, two poster sessions, a keynote, and a Data Blitz, closing with a wine/cheese reception. Find updates for Science Day at the VKC Science Day webpage here: https://vkc.vumc.org/vkc/scienceday/


The SfN experience

 Was at the Society for Neuroscience Conference from Oct 4-9. 

Largest neuroscience conference in the world with 22K attendees and 3K exhitors. A mix of overwhelm and awe. 

2 poster sessions navigated - a 2 hr long one during the Early Career Session linked to my TPDA award and another 4hr one under Cross Modal Processing in Humans Session









 


APS Poster Acceptance

From: psychologicalscience@confex.com <psychologicalscience@confex.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2024 4:36 PM
To: Srinivasan, Hari <hari.srinivasan@vanderbilt.edu>
Subject: Your APS Submission Notification - Virtual Summit

Dear Hari,

Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that your poster submission, "Navigating the Near: VR Investigations of Peripersonal Space in Autism", has been accepted for presentation at the 2024 APS Global Psychological Science Summit, October 23-24, 2024. 




NSF Award Reception.

NSF GRFP Award recipients get a welcome reception. 


Two PD Soros Fellows @ NSF Grad Research Fellows Reception









Uncertainty

Not able to disengage from stress.
So much uncertainty.
What are the expectations of me?

Fractured Certainty

My mind’s like the uncertainty principle,
Thoughts race, no path is clear.
Anxiety spikes, I lose control,
In a world where nothing’s ever near.

Endless Strain

Grad school trials and endless strain,
Disability threads through each day,
I wait and wait to see what they want of me

Shrouded Weight

A veil of sorrow surrounds me.
What is the expectation of me?
Disability is a weight indeed.

Uncertain Fate

Will I be allowed to strive and thrive
Or always be left just barely alive?
Staying afloat, with hope so thin,
Struggling each day, just to survive within.